4,615 Shares in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN Bought by Axxcess Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased 4,615 shares of VeriSign, Inc. for approximately $1.33 million, signifying growing institutional interest in the company.
• VeriSign recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per share and initiated a share repurchase plan to buy back $1.11 billion in outstanding shares, indicating confidence in its financial health.
• The stock has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from analysts, with a target price of $277.50, reflecting positive market sentiment.

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,615 shares of the information services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,333,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at $211,000. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 88.2% in the 2nd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,113 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $899,000 after buying an additional 1,459 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in VeriSign in the 2nd quarter valued at $394,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,151 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in VeriSign by 37.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 53,687 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $15,505,000 after buying an additional 14,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of VeriSign from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, VeriSign currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $277.50.

VeriSign Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSN opened at $265.74 on Thursday. VeriSign, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.62 and a 52 week high of $310.60. The company's fifty day moving average is $275.15 and its 200-day moving average is $273.93. The company has a market capitalization of $24.82 billion, a PE ratio of 31.71 and a beta of 0.79.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The information services provider reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. VeriSign had a net margin of 50.05% and a negative return on equity of 40.87%. The company had revenue of $409.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. VeriSign has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign's dividend payout ratio is 36.75%.

VeriSign declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.11 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information services provider to repurchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.28, for a total transaction of $141,422.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,191 shares in the company, valued at $9,933,715.48. This represents a 1.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Tomlinson sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,126,680. This trade represents a 4.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,706 shares of company stock worth $8,735,706 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company's stock.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.

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